Women tell your friends and family: this cancer treatment can be a killer

Friends Don’t Let Friends…

Nausea? Vomiting? Loss of energy?

I don’t think I want a drug that could bring on those side effects.

But what if the drug might prevent a recurrence of breast cancer?

Well that’s different. That’s sort of a deal breaker. But still, the list of possible side effects goes on: mood swings, depression, weight gain, hot flashes.

Hmmm. Still not too bad compared to staving off cancer, but I don’t like the way this is going. And yet you can’t deny the potential benefit. You have to weigh it all right?

The drug is tamoxifen, and some mainstream medical types have hailed it as a “wonder drug” and a “success story.” But were any of those mainstream types actually faced with the prospect of taking this drug? I’m thinking: No. Because after you get past the possible problems listed above, the side effects turn pretty grim.

For instance: increased risk of deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

Yeah, we’re way past simple nausea or weight gain now. A pulmonary embolism is very serious business. It can prompt sudden death. And you don’t get much more serious than that. Although another tamoxifen side effect comes pretty close: increased risk of endometrial cancer. In fact, tamoxifen is actually listed as a potential cancer-causing agent by California’s Environmental Protection Agency.

Risk a cancer to prevent a recurrence of cancer? Suddenly this doesn’t seem like such a good idea at all.

Ah, but wait. As the guys on infomercials say: “There’s more!”

Over the top

This past summer, HSI researcher Michele Cagan sent you a Code Red alert with this important warning: “Common breast cancer drug tamoxifen may quadruple your risk of developing a more aggressive cancer in your healthy breast.”

Yikes! If that doesn’t send up a huge, glaring red flag…

That’s why University of Michigan researchers recently questioned more than 630 women at high risk of developing breast cancer. The women were given the full rundown of tamoxifen’s risks and benefits. No surprise: Only 6 percent said they would be likely to use the drug.

One of the researchers told Ivanhoe Newswire: “This is probably the standard for how we should help people make difficult decisions.”

Well, sure, that’s how it would go in a perfect world. Especially with a dangerous drug like tamoxifen. But over the next five years an estimated 10 million women will be considered eligible candidates for this therapy and thousands of doctors will continue to recommend it. And you know how that goes: Doctors will play down the side effects, describing them as extremely rare.

I doubt if any of those doctors will mention that when hundreds of women were given a list of risks and benefits the overwhelming majority said, “No way!”

PLEASE share this e-mail with all your women friends and family members. When they know the facts, they’ll likely want to be among the 94-percenters.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson

Sources:
“Women’s Decisions Regarding Tamoxifen for Breast Cancer Prevention: Responses to a Tailored Decision Aid” Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, Published online 11/12/09, springerlink.com
“Informed Women Unlikely to Take Tamoxifen” Kirsten Houmann, Ivanhoe Newswire, 12/7/09, ivanhoe.com
“Tamoxifen on Trial: The Saga Continues” Nancy Evans, Breast Cancer Action, Newsletter #41, April/May 1997, bcaction.org